The Diversion
by Qweb
Summary: Some think Maria Hill is a traitor to SHIELD. Director Coulson disagrees.


**The Diversion**

The television screen showed Maria Hill sitting primly in front of yet another Senate hearing. She was flanked by two of the most high-powered attorneys in the country, thanks to her new employer Stark Industries.

Hill looked composed, even a little condescending, as she picked and chose which questions she answered.

The tattered, battered remnants of SHIELD watched the hearing from their secret headquarters. One of the techs scowled at the screen. Her husband was in prison because he had worked for SHIELD. Even though the massive information leak made it clear he'd never been Hydra, was, in fact, on Hydra's hit list, the mere fact of him working for a "terrorist organization" made him a criminal. And yet Hill, who had been Fury's No. 2, was walking around free and smug.

"Traitor!" the tech growled angrily.

Melinda May laughed.

It was more of a snort, really, with the word "ha!" blended in, but it startled everyone in the room to hear any sort of laughter from the stone-faced agent.

The offending tech scuttled to the far side of the room and everyone else edged away, leaving a wide safety zone around the agent.

"May's right," said SHIELD Director Phil Coulson, as if May had made a reasoned argument instead of a derisive snort. The only one unmoved by May's outburst, Phil stood, arms crossed, watching the screen. "Hill's one of us," he said.

"I seem to remember you were pretty angry when we saw her at Providence, sir," Agent Antoine Triplett, just pointing out a fact.

"I was," Phil admitted, turning away from the screen to face his people. "But now I've seen Fury's plan. I know she's following orders. Hill was too visible when SHIELD exposed Hydra in its midst."

"When I saw her, she was being followed by agents from three different agencies," May said. "She couldn't have vanished like this."

Phil said, "She couldn't have … It wouldn't have been safe for her to try to rebuild. Not safe for her or any of you. This shadow version of SHIELD needed …"

"A ghost?" Skye offered.

"Another shadow," Phil agreed. "If SHIELD is supposed to be dead, it needs a dead man to lead it."

"But a lot of people know you're not dead now," Skye pointed out. "Most of our enemies, like Talbot and Hydra."

"And all the agents we're trying to recruit," Bobbi Morse said. "Practically all the loyal SHIELD agents we know of except …" she hesitated. "Barton and Romanoff — and Rogers," she added as an afterthought. It was hard to think of Captain America as a common SHIELD agent.

"I guess Cap and Romanoff are as compromised as Hill," Trip said.

"But Barton," Bobbi suggested. She had worked with all the top agents and knew how Phil's death had cut him off from all his best friends in the agency. "We could use Barton."

Behind her, her ex-husband Hunter made a face. He'd never liked how close Bobbi and Clint Barton seemed to be. Fortunately for his peace of mind, Coulson shook his head.

"No, the Avengers have to remain separate from SHIELD. Independent. Untainted. Romanoff and Rogers are the ones who exposed Hydra and the rest need to remain heroes in the eyes of the people who need them. They don't need me to guide them. That's Hill's secondary job now, handling the Avengers." His eyes drifted back to the TV screen where his friend was annoying the politicians by pointing out that there had been Hydra adherents in the Senate and the House.

"That would make the United States Congress as much a terrorist organization as SHIELD," she pointed out, speaking briskly over the uproar. "And if you're not going to lock up all the politicians for associating with Hydra, then you should release all the imprisoned SHIELD personnel who have been cleared of Hydra ties."

Phil heard a whispered apology from the tech at the back of the room.

"If the Avengers are Hill's secondary job, what's her first?" Skye asked curiously.

Phil kept his eyes on the screen where outraged committee members were shouting over each other while Hill sat, cool, calm and focused. The corner of Phil's mouth twitched in an appreciative smile.

"Being a diversion," he replied.


End file.
